Some Guys Don't Play Nice
by kamwolfe5
Summary: Second part to Uncontrolled wildfire...Brenda and Croelick
1. Chapter 1

Bill Croelick clasped his hand over Brenda's mouth.

It startled her awake…

…and she came face to face with a nightmare that she had never thought she would ever have again. Bill Croelick's dark smile sent Brenda into panic mode. She instantly fought back because she knew there was no other way out. Croelick would never let her leave alive…he had tried to kill her more than once now. Brenda only stopped struggling when she felt stronger hands push down on her shoulders and pin her to the bed in order to halt her fight back.

They were not Croelick's.

They were not Croelick's!

Fritz stared down at her wild eyes that displayed a mixture of pure fear…fear that Croelick welcomed. Brenda reached for Fritz, who should have been right next to her, but he was holding her down…keeping her from fighting. His face was strange and for a brief moment, she felt as if she did not know him. Her eyes widened with the thoughts of what could have happened to him. Croelick felt her lips move beneath his hand and heard the muffled words of her protest and question.

He only laughed at her. "No questions for you Brenda," he said and reached behind to his back pant pocket and pulled out a lighter. He showed it to her. Brenda remembered the lighter. In her mind, she saw herself screaming as the flame was planted against her bare flesh. She remembered the smell of her own skin being burned. Croelick had been unforgiving when he had delivered her torture and she knew that had yet to change.

Brenda tried to free herself again, but Fritz held her in place. Her muffled protests and threats came to deaf ears. She met her husband's eyes once more and saw nothing but a stranger within them. Croelick brought the lighter closer to bare skin and she jerked her eyes back to the it. Her breathing increased. He smelled her fear. He pulled up her night shirt to reveal the scar he had left many months before. Brenda fought the urge to scream and she fought to speak. Croelick flicked the cap of the lighter a few times and each time, he watched Brenda jerk and flinch. His smile widened as he saw one tear fall from the corner of her eye and down the side of her cheek.

He had won.

Croelick clicked the lighter to life and the brilliant flame was powerfully bright against the darkness of the room. Brenda met Croelick's eyes and saw nothing but a monster…saw nothing but her death within them. As he placed the flames against her skin she screamed through his hand, suffocating in torment…

* * *

"Brenda! Brenda! BRENDA!" Fritz was practically screaming at her and holding her shoulders, rocking her almost violent to wake her. It took a few more sounds of her name to break the cycle of the nightmare and wake her. When she finally did wake, she saw nothing but what was in her nightmare. Fritz was holding her down…his eyes wild as he looked at her. She cried out again and kicked him hard in the groin to get him off of her. Fritz fell off the back of the bed and groaned, "Brenda…"

"Fritzy?" She finally said after a few moments and after her heart slowed to a somewhat normal pace.

"You were having a nightmare," he said to her and grumbled softly to himself to never wake her from one again.

Brenda blinked, shook her head and then let her face fall into her sweat soaked palms. She heard her heart still beating madly in her ears. -A nightmare-she thought to herself-to real to be a nightmare…-

Fritz, after catching his breath, finally got up from the floor once the pain to his groin slowed to a dull throbbing. He slowly moved to the edge of the bed and sat down. He gingerly place a hand on her shoulder and saw her jump slightly. He frowned. "Can you tell me?"

"It was…it…." she started to say and then stopped herself. -He would only want to protect me more-she thought. Moreover, she did not want Fritz to know just how bothered she had really been by her last run in with Bill Croelick. He was the perfect nightmare and one that she never wanted to have again. However, she had had several nightmares since…all of which ended the same way…with her being burned alive. Brenda swallowed and brought her face up to see the familiar, soft and loving eyes of the man that she loved.

"It was what, Brenda?" Fritz urged gently and touched her shoulder again. He hand felt cool against her skin.

"Nothing…" she said and noticed his frown. "I just don't want to talk about it…I just want to go back to bed…" she finished and drew the mess of sheet and blanket back around herself all the way up to her chin. She held it here and breathed evenly. Fritz stared at her, studied her, and was more than concerned. He also knew that she was stubborn and that no amount of begging or pleading would result in the answer that he wanted. Therefore, he climbed back into bed next to her. He turned his head to the side and continued to stare at her. Her chaw was tense as was her grip to the covers at her chin…

* * *

…Bill Croelick stared at a black smudge on the wall across from his cell bed. He face tight and his hand in relaxed fists. He sighed outwardly and closed his eyes after a moment. In the darkness that then surrounded him, her face came into view…Brenda's. His pale lips turned into a smile and he knew beyond a reasonable doubt that he would be seeing her again. It was all a matter of place and prefect timing.

"…Perfect timing…"he said aloud to himself and moved from his bed to stand at the back of his cell. He heard footsteps coming from farther down the hall. He smelled the familiar cologne of the prison guard and huffed a laugh. "Perfect timing," he repeated…


	2. Chapter 2

Brenda fell heavily into her chair at her desk and fought the urge to open her drawer of stress relief. She did however stare at it for a long while before a knock on her door startled her back to the world of the sane thinkers. She blinked a few times, brushed a blond lock from her shoulder, and looked up to see Sanchez. She cleared her throat.

"Come in…"

"Chief we got call that a prison guard was killed last night in county…" Sanchez said and noticed the tired look to Brenda's eyes. "Uh, Chief…you ok?"

"Perfectly fine, Lt, " she replied and chewed on her lower lip as he continued. She was, however, not perfectly fine as she had put it. On the contrary, she was having a hard time forgetting the nightmare she had had last night. Brenda sighed.

"Chief Pope wants us down there as soon as possible to take a look. Tao and Buzz are already down there."

"Good, " Brenda said with a nod as she stood. "Then let's not keep the Chief waiting," she finished as she brushed by Sanchez and headed out the door of her office. He followed close behind her.

Brenda knew the reason that Sanchez was driving her instead of Gabriel, but it did not make her feel any better. "You heard anything on Lt. Gabriel this morning?" She asked when they got onto the road.

"Other than he is home and resting, no."

"Well at least he is home," she said in a softer tone. Garbriel had been shot only a few days ago while on duty. The news had shocked the entire squad. But all were relieved when they heard that he was going to recover. Brenda sighed heavily. Sanchez gave her a sideways glance.

"I think he is taking visitors, " he said lightly and centered his gaze back to the front. However, he did not miss the smile that formed over Brenda's lips.

"Perhaps I will make a visit after we go over the scene…"

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Sure does…"

* * *

Bill Croelick settled into the couch and relished the comfort of it after many months on a hard prison bed. He closed his eyes and stretched, relaxing fully. It had only been a mere six hours since he had murdered the prison guard, took the uniformed and hat, and had made his way out of the complex. He had been surprised at how easy it was. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was almost too easy. Croelick opened his eyes and frowned at himself in the hotel mirror. He studied his hard edged complexion, his brown hair, and receding hairline. His frown grew.

"Getting old, Bill," he said to his image and then scratched the hairline. He knew there were better things to think about then how easy his escape was or the way his hair looked. There was one thing on his mind now and the plans to get Brenda into his control was already well on its way. He stood after a moment and nodded. He watched his reflection and his face as the frown was replaced with a dark smile.

* * *

Brenda kneeled at the guard's mangled face and stared. Her head was titled slightly as she got a better angle and look to what had been done the dead guard's temple. She pointed her finger at the marking right above the ear.

"Buzz, get that," she said and shuffled aside to allow the young man to get as close as possible to the victim.

"Looks like a hole," Tao said, "but after checking out the scene I have yet to find out what could have made a hole of that nature. He bled out pretty quick, Chief…"

"I know…"Brenda said, her accent dominating every word. She gaze perplexed at the large halo of blood that hugged the floor around the victim's head and shoulders. There was no question that the guard died very quickly with the type of wound inflicted. "Find something," she ordered.

* * *

Bill Croelick whistled the Indian Jones theme song as he walked through the police station parking lot. It was scarcely full with a few cars in a few spots, scattered. He looked at his watch, 7:54pm. Croelick knew he still had a few hours of waiting to do so he decided he had better get to work. Croelick cracked his knuckles and headed down another level to where the higher ups usually parked. After searching a few moments, he found Brenda's car. He had seen it before in her driveway as he watched her walk up her front sidewalk to the front door from the bushes. He remembered that night fondly for it was one of the first times he had been alone with her. He also remembered the slight tremble of her trigger finger as she had had her firearm aimed directly at his head. Croelick would never forget that. He frightened her…and he knew that she understood him.

He licked his lips and moved to stand behind a pillar a few feet away from where the car sat. It was not the best spot in the world for an attack, but it had to do in a pinch. There he would wait…wait for the right moment…

…the perfect timing…

* * *

Brenda looked down and dug for her keys in her large black bag. She was distracted and her thoughts were on her case as usual. She looked up and saw her car up ahead. To the right was the pillar where Croelick stood, silent, but listening like a hunter.

Brenda's footsteps echoed across the pavement. Her steps were quick. His timing needed to be perfect. Croelick soaked a cloth quickly in something that would put her to sleep and waited. Her footsteps paused and he heard keys jingling their song.

It was the perfect moment…

"Hello…just plain Brenda…" he said as came around the pillar and she startled. Brenda knew the voice before she even got turned around and had her hand on her firearm. He pressed the cloth to her face while grabbing the back of her head all in a matter of seconds. She had nowhere to go… His hold on her was powerful…angry…His actions were faster than her gun. Brenda struggled for only a moment before the chemicals took their hold over her. Right before she blacked out, Croelick read her eyes. They read…pure fear…

The gun fell from her hand as if in slow motion to the ground below.

Croelick brought his arms around her body and caught her before she fell completely to the ground. His strong arms held her, cradled her. He looked down at her sleeping face and smiled with a dangerous confidence.

"It's my turn now…"

* * *

...to be continued...

I do not own the characters of the TV show The Closer. All right belong to them. I just like to dabble with stories from time to time.


End file.
